Friday, October 13, 2017

SWAC preseason awards: A clean slate and a rush to fill the void

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- While history tends to repeat itself in some ways — take, for example, Texas Southern, who is once again the clear favorite to win the SWAC — the world of college basketball as a whole is ever-changing. Just look at last year’s All-SWAC First Team. Not a single player remains for 2017-18.

That means the three returning members of the second-team — Reginal Johnson of Alcorn State, Texas Southern’s Kevin Scott, and Jared Sam at Southern — will be in the mix for first-team and Player of the Year honors.

Here are our complete projections for the 2017-18 SWAC awards. Compare them to the league’s picks, which were announced Thursday during the SWAC’s annual media teleconference.

Player of the Year—Reginal Johnson, Sr., Alcorn State

This year, a number of players could fit the bill for the preseason top performer. Yet Johnson has shown his dominance in the SWAC for years now. 15.6 points per game in the low post led him to be named HBCU All-American last year. He is a willing rebounder with a tremendous upside.

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